Board 8 > Strife Watches Batman: The Animated Series for the First Time (Spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Having finished up Gargoyles last week, I knew there was something I had to get to while I was in my "90s cartoon" phase of binge watching. Maybe it was due to always being more into the Marvel shows growing up, but I never got around to TAS. It's not like Batman was foreign to me (who the f*** doesn't know Batman)? But it's just one of those shows I never watched, despite it probably being ranked as one of, if not the best cartoon show. Maybe all-time is a stretch, but I guess I will find out for myself.

Amazon Prime has many volumes up for free, so I won't have to bootleg it (thanks for nothing Youtube). I put the spoiler tag up just in case I want to discuss things. I won't go overboard with quoting stuff. Probably an episode by episode recap, depending on my timeframe.

First episode GO! And without a topic title typo this time.
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I wasn't too thrilled with the first episode, but "Christmas With the Joker," or "How I Learned to Love Mark Hamill Laughing Maniacally." was just lovely. It had a twisted sense of campy fun, mixed with a sadistic lunacy that I couldn't get enough of. The performance and the dialogue was picture perfect magic made in Hell. How many more episodes like this do I get? Please say a million more!

I do want to say that Alfred's derp face and Bruce Wayne's fashion sense leave a lot to be desired though. Stylish, they are not. Brown suit and khaki pants...BLARGH!
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I had a bunch of stuff written up before but the topic vanished.

I'll just say watch Batman Beyond also.
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Finished watching them this year along with JLU. DCAU was damn good television.
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Grand Kirby posted...

I had a bunch of stuff written up before but the topic vanished.

I'll just say watch Batman Beyond also.

From the initial topic I made or a different one?
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Yeah
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Well, my first topic said Animates Series. I'd rather not have that typo.
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Watching Batman animate a series sounds awesome though.
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Unless I can't fall asleep for shit (entirely possible), I'll save more episodes for tomorrow. I don't think a Scarecrow episode is the best idea for a night time watch.
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FEAR!

love Scarecrow
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Too tired to get to another episode. I'll probably get to one in the morning or afternoon; test tomorrow.
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Following this with the rest of the DCAU would not be a bad decision. (Off the top of my head, Superman, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Static Shock, Batman Beyond...did I miss anything? Also I recall JLU at one point gets into stuff probably intended as surprising for BB watchers so that's probably not the best viewing order.)
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There's also The Zeta Project, but, uh, don't watch that.
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Went to see Wonder Woman. Finally around to this.
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First fear gas, and now stinky laughing gas? I'm sensing a theme here.
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Joker has got to stop tripping from crazy heights and nearly falling into death traps.
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Oh god: Poison Ivy's first episode. Let's just say I am intrigued to see how this goes.
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Please use episode names so I can tell if you're watching one of my favorite ones.
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Pretty Poison was the last one I watched.
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Two-Face

Clancy Brown (maybe?) as Two-Face? Goddamn greatness. I also like that female secretary of the mobster. Hope she sticks around. She likes fun brawls.
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Every car looks like a penis
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Strife2 posted...

Two-Face

Clancy Brown (maybe?) as Two-Face? Goddamn greatness. I also like that female secretary of the mobster. Hope she sticks around. She likes fun brawls.

Two-Face is actually voiced by Richard Moll, also famed for the role of Bull on Night Court.
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No wonder I'd never heard of him. I hear some people I recognize, like the actors who played Doctor Octopus (plying Alfred here I think) and Arthur from The Tick. It just feels weird hearing people I know, but don't know.
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More tomorrow
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Heart of Ice

So everyone hates Arnold for being a pun machine, but Mr. Freeze's first line was the most obvious of all ice puns. Ok.
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My parents go home tomorrow. I should be able to get through more episodes after that.
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The Cat and The Claw
As rich as he is, I think $10k is too much for one Bruce Wayne date. At least she wrote it off as charity.
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See No Evil
The dog broke the fourth wall.

Edit: Batman gets beat up a hell of a lot more than I would have expected
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Wow. The Gray Ghost started off well, but the reveal is a fart balloon.
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Sweet I thought that guy sounded like Ron Perlman.
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Joker's Favor

So much to unpack. It doesn't surprise me Joker would keep tabs and stalk a random fat guy for so long. It's actually pretty tame on his scale of hobbies. Harley Quinn lived up to the hype. She's stylish, beautiful, and kooky. Her voice is that suitable annoying New York girl type of annoying that fits what a Joker henchman would sound like. I wonder how she switches from hot chick to Joker clown makeup so fast.

Also, that damn fart trumpet theme. It is disgusting. Just totally disgusting. It works though. What better way for the Joker to get on the nerves of BAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAANNNNNNN all day?
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Tag
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Vendetta

So, it looks like Killer Croc started wrestling again.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d8/07/ae/d807ae14a547a08cff0af23bb3996f81.jpg
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Also, I just read that Adam West passed away last night. I find it surreal I was watching the Gray Ghost episode too. 2017 can suck a giant dick. Too many deaths of too many awesome people.
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Fear of Victory
I loved seeing Arkham. All the villains in a row. Scarecrow's new mask is a welcome sight.
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Eternal Youth
Yay a Poison Ivy episode! Ooh, and an Alfred episode too! I love is, "gettin too old for this shit," mentality about the whole thing. I'm actually shocked at how stupid the marks were in this situation. You can obviously tell Lily and Violet were shitty actors on those video tapes. They weren't even trying to hide the, "This is phony, and you are stupid if you show up," situation. I'm not saying Ivy could have hired Clayface or whatever, but sheesh. Then again, Clayface did escape as a woman in his first episode. I'm sure Ivy has the money.

I'm splitting hairs over intentionally shitty acting. Anyway, Ivy's plans go to crap, but at least a new giant tree has sprouted in the middle of the most polluted city in the world. It's not all bad.
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Perchance to Dream
The red pill/blue pill scenario. Take a dream where you get everything you want, but you know it isn't real, or deal with the original life with all its faults and imperfections. Bruce Wayne really is a sucker for self-loathing. Sheesh. I'm not sure what Hatter would have done with Batman comatose in the dream world, but that's not a terrible dream to have...only to throw it away because you love fighting crazies with superpowers and endless henchmen.
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Robin's Reckoning
Not a Robin fan, but I'll grant this was a good two-parter.
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Strife2 posted...

Perchance to Dream
The red pill/blue pill scenario. Take a dream where you get everything you want, but you know it isn't real, or deal with the original life with all its faults and imperfections. Bruce Wayne really is a sucker for self-loathing. Sheesh. I'm not sure what Hatter would have done with Batman comatose in the dream world, but that's not a terrible dream to have...only to throw it away because you love fighting crazies with superpowers and endless henchmen.

It's probably not a fair comparison, but how does this measure up against "For the Man Who Has Everything" from JLU?
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Haven't seen it, so I wouldn't know. It definitely beats out the Gargoyles episode that pulled that same plot. Then again, it was a Goliath Chronicle...so yeah.
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Seriously...Joker Fish...yeah
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That episode was dumb. I'm sure it was actually great but I just couldn't get into it for some reason and barely paid attention to it.
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It was dumb, but not in the "Joker still makes this threatening, so I like it" sort of way.
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Cat Scratch Fever
This episode just keeps getting worse and worse. Once I saw a dog tumbling around on ice with near Benny Hill type music, I just couldn't keep going. I know this show has some camp, but there are limits I can handle.

Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne
What a bounce back. Each villain had a great showing, and they toned down Joker's involvement. They have so much goddamn money. They had a bunch of interesting teases. The final one was fantastic. I'm happy they didn't just leave that up in the air.
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No time today...freaking grad school
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Cutting through assignments today. I should get an episode or two in.
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A walking, one-eyed hacking briefcase?
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Wait....MJ? Did I turn on Spiderman all of a sudden?
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Heart of Steel
Yeah seriously...did Spiderman rip off Batman first, or is it just weird that a red haired girl just waltzes into the picture? I thought Barbara Gordon had brown hair. Anyway, it was the usual "computers > humans" setup. For an intro to Barbara, it was all right I guess. Reckless, gutsy, and kinda dumb, but she looks good, so whatever.
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If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?
Nice intro to the Riddler. I could do without the puns, but I suppose it was a small price to pay to have a more inquisitive opponent for Batman.

Joker's Wild
Ahh, the old, "blow up my place for insurance money" scam. Can't beat that idea. Except when the Joker is involved. I kept thinking the waitress actually was Harley until she didn't speak the 2nd or 3rd time. I was a little disappointed. The consolation was continuing to see main villains show up as filler in Arkham. It helps build character dynamics. I know if I was in prison, I would be bothered with Joker constantly changing channels out of boredom.
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